This invention relates to a tissue culture vessel that provides easy access to cells and variability of growth substrate for microscopic examinations at high magnifications.
A current problem in tissue technology is the unavailability of a vessel for the in vitro cultivation of cells and explants that allows for high resolution microscopy along with easy accessibility to the materials contained within the vessel. A wide variety of devices presently on the market have been used with considerable success but each has limitations which restrict usefulness and limit versatility.
Generally, the various devices of the prior art are of two types of construction. For example, the first type allows for growth and easy access to the culture sample, but the materials used do not permit high magnification microscopy. These include such growth containers as glass and plastic bottles, flasks and petri dishes that have thick and/or irregular surfaces which distort the image when viewed at high magnifications. Often, stress lines, bubbles and scratches interfere with the visual morphological assessments. In addition, phase and interference microscopy are far from optimal because of the thickness of the growth surface. These devices also fail to offer any variability in the nature of the growth substrate.
The second type incorporates thin glass or plastic coverslips as the growth substrate sandwiched between metal plates. The coverslips are separated by a ring-like gasket or are permanently cemented to one of the plates. Access to this type of chamber is either with a syringe needle or by a tube projecting radially from the enclosed area. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,942,520 discloses a tissue culture device of this type where any physical manipulation of the cellular material inside the device requires complete disassembly. Maintenance of a sterile environment during disassembly is difficult if not impossible. Such devices permit the exchange of liquid or media contained within, but do not provide access to the cellular material located on the growth surface.